Sir Alex Ferguson hailed Robin van Persie last night as the player making the difference in the Barclays Premier League title race after another two goals from the forward helped Manchester United to maintain their seven-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table.

With Van Persie and Javier Hernández scoring two goals apiece, United won 4-0 away to Wigan Athletic, the eighth victory in their past nine league matches, to preserve their advantage over City. The Dutchman responded to the plaudits by hailing his team-mates as “champions”.